Vijay Viswanathan

Vijay has always been active in sports, from t-ball and little league baseball to junior varsity basketball and cross-country in high school. To pursue his academic career along with his love for running, climbing, and skiing, Vijay enrolled at the University of Colorado, and was involved in a climbing accident at the end of his first semester. Vijay fell over 80’, severing his spinal cord at the T6 level, an injury resulting in complete paraplegia. Due to the extensive damage to his spine, it was necessary to fuse all of the vertebrae from T3 to L1, and stabilize the fusion with two titanium rods. Vijay completed his rehabilitation at Craig Hospital near Denver, and remains extremely active, learning and testing innovative “sit-climbing” techniques for paraplegic rock climbers, and helping pioneer human-powered backcountry access techniques for sit-skiers. Vijay is currently pursuing a dual degree in Finance and Accounting at the University of Colorado in Boulder, is a voting member on CU’s Diversity Commission, and is an athlete and advocate for Paradox Sports, a Boulder-based non-profit whose mission is to provide people with physical disabilities opportunities to participate in human-powered outdoor sports. Vijay plans to use his degree to pursue a career in Finance and wealth management.

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